RealtyTrac: Foreclosures Rose in October

More than 224,000 foreclosure filings were reported nationwide in October, up 2% from the level recorded in September and up 94% from that of a year earlier, according to RealtyTrac, an online foreclosure marketplace based in Irvine, Calif.The nation's foreclosure rate stood at one foreclosure filing for every 555 households, the company said in its October 2007 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report. (Foreclosure filings include default notices, auction sale notices, and bank repossessions.) "Overall foreclosure activity continues to register at a high level compared to last year, but it appears to have leveled off over the past two months after hitting a high for the year in August," said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. "Default notices were down nearly 9% in October, indicating that some of the efforts on the part of homeowners, lenders, and advocacy groups to find alternatives to foreclosure may be starting to have an impact. On the other hand, bank repossessions were up nearly 35%, evidence that more homeowners who enter foreclosure are losing their homes." The company said Nevada, California, and Florida recorded the highest foreclosure rates in October. The company can be found online at http://www.realtytrac.com.